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If your downspout is feeding your sewer line be prepared to pay the price. The water company will, at some undisclosed future date, perform a smoke test of water drainage in West Easton. Among their search for broken pipes, that are indicated by smoke coming from the ground, they will also be looking for illegally attached downspouts from homes that drain directly into the sewer system.

There will be no notification from the water company of the day they will perform this test.

Illegally attached downspouts will be easy to spot. To a casual observer it will appear as if your gutters are on fire, as the smoke rises from the sewer attachment up the spout and out the gutter. It won’t be difficult to spot and you can then expect a fine to be issued.

All of West Easton’s residents pay for sewage and it’s based on the amount received by the water company that has to be treated. Gutter water that is fed into this system is included in the total volume, which adds to the cost we incur from the water company.

A heavy rainfall can almost triple the volume of water flowing to the sewer treatment plant, due to illegal connections of downspouts and sump pumps to the sanitary sewer lines. These illegal connections, and the resulting “inflow” of rainwater into the sewer system, cause a host of problems:

• Pump stations can overflow, dumping raw sewage into nearby streams and the river.
• Pumps and the treatment plants are large electricity consumers, so illegal connections also increase their energy bills, and thus our taxes.
• Inflow can cause sewage backups into people’s basements.

Permanently disconnect your downspouts from the sewer system and cap the pipe where your spout had connected to it, if you haven’t done so already. Local ordinance also requires it be disconnected.

No crying or complaining when you get caught. You’ve had ample warning.